Revelation 3:4

Revelation 3:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
• New International Version (NIV)Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

Context of Revelation 3:4

2Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. 3So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Revelation 3:4 word by word

ἀλλ᾽ ἔχεις ὀλίγα ὀνόματα ἐν Σάρδεσιν ἃ οὐκ ἐμόλυναν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν, καὶ περιπατήσουσιν μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἐν λευκοῖς, ὅτι ἄξιοί εἰσιν.Read the interlinear

• But you haveἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• a fewὀλίγοςoligos · little/fewG3641
• peopleὄνομαonoma · nameG3686
• SardisΣάρδειςSardeis · SardisG4554
• whoὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• soiledμολύνωmolunō · to defileG3435
• their garmentsἱμάτιονhimation · clothingG2440
• and they will walkπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
• in whiteλευκόςleukos · whiteG3022
• for they are worthyἄξιοςaxios · worthyG514

Cross-references for Revelation 3:4

• Revelation 11:13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
• Acts 1:15At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,
• 1 Kings 19:18Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
• Isaiah 1:9Unless the Lord of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah.
• Romans 11:4But what is the divine response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
• Revelation 7:14I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
• Revelation 19:8It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
• Isaiah 52:1Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you.
• Isaiah 59:6Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands.
• Isaiah 61:3To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
• Isaiah 64:6For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
• Zechariah 3:3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.
• Jude 1:23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.
• Revelation 3:5He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
• Revelation 4:4Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.
• Revelation 6:11And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also.

Commentaries on Revelation 3:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis - A few persons, names being put for those who bore them. And as the members of the Church were all enrolled, or their names entered in a book, when admitted into the Church or when baptized, names are here put for the people themselves. See Revelation 3:5. Have not defiled their garments - Their souls. The Hebrews considered holiness as the garb of the soul, and evil actions as stains or spots on this garb. So in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Thou hast a few names even in Sardis - See the analysis of the chapter. The word “names” here is equivalent to “persons”; and the idea is, that even in a place so depraved, and where religion had so much declined, there were a few persons who had kept themselves free from the general contamination. In most cases, when error and sin prevail, there may be found a few who are worthy of the divine commendation; a few who show that true religion may exist even…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Soiled … garments symbolize an impure life (Zechariah 3:4), while white clothes represent purity (see Revelation 6:11; 7:13–14; 22:14). How they walk means how a person lives (see Genesis 17:1; Psalms 81:13; 82:5; Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The three oldest manuscripts prefix "but," or "nevertheless" (notwithstanding thy spiritual deadness), and omit "even." names--persons named in the book of life (Re 3:5) known by name by the Lord as His own. These had the reality corresponding to their name; not a mere name among men as living, while really dead (Re 3:1). The gracious Lord does not overlook any exceptional cases of real saints in the midst of unreal professors. not defiled their…Read the comment

Topics related to Revelation 3:4

• Church
• Colors
• Decision
• Immortality
• Obedience
• Righteous
• Sardis
• Walking

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Banquet
• Chasten
• Cold
• Counsel
• Dead
• Lukewarm
• Naked
• Poor
• Rich

Commentaries on Revelation 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings